About Patt Morrison

Patt Morrison is a live two-hour public affairs show. The program is known for its innovative discussions of local politics and culture, and for its presentation of national and world news as it affects Southern California.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control estimates that perhaps one in ten American adults suffers from some kind of depression. Causality for depression is murky and ranges from environmental factors to heredity, and doctors say that it is a debilitating, difficult to treat and costly mental illness. But there may be some clarity on the horizon - new evidence found in research with “biomarkers” - messenger molecules that carry genetic instructions - means that a simple blood test may someday be able to indicate depression in a patient, and those who treat depression believe that definitive diagnosis may lead to more effective treatment. The current study focused on teenagers who suffer from depression, a typically difficult to diagnose group, but further research may hold promise for the diagnosis and eventual treatment of depressed adults and the elderly as well.

WEIGH IN:

How would more effective diagnosis of depression help those who suffer from it? What do you do to deal with depression?

Guests:

Eva Redei, professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences and physiology at Northwestern University and leader of the new depression study published in the journal Translational Psychiatry